The newest series in the Pokémon franchise, Pokémon: Sword and Shield is tackling its narrative in a brand new way. Instead of sticking to one continent, the series will follow Ash, Pikachu, and newcomer Gou as they travel across the lands, searching far and wide.

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Gou is a young man who starts out his Pokémon journey with no partner and one goal, to catch Mew. Fans have been putting a lot of pressure on Gou as the newest companion for Ash. Because of this pressure, there are a lot of expectations that fans want to see from Gou, so here are ten things to expect from Gou.

10 10. True Friendship

From his first interaction with Ash, it was clear that Gou’s companionship was not going to be like everyone else who has come before. He isn’t joining Ash to become a better breeder, or find his true self, or be mad about his bike for years on end.

The two share a similar spirit and it can be seen from their first interactions on Lugia. Because of this, we are hopeful that the friendship works itself out and that Gou becomes a true friend to Ash, rather than just a companion, such as Terry, whom the world hasn’t heard from in over a decade.

9 9. Rivalry with Ash

In addition to being close friends with Ash, Gou comes at a so similar to the first episode of the series, which introduced the best rival to date, Gary Oak. While each new season presents a new rival for Ash, it has been some time since they have been on the same level.

Gou is the perfect candidate for Ash’s new rival. Not only is he the only other member of the Special Research Team, but the two have already butt heads multiple times in a frenemy way. The show has some building to do, but hopefully, the two can be good rivals and friends, rather than just traveling companions.

8 8. Mixing of Brock, Max, and Cilan

Ash Cilan Brock May Max Pokemon

Brock wanted to be a Pokémon Breeder, so he left home to journey with Ash. Max was just a kid joining his sister but had hopes of being a Pokémon Professor. Cilan was a Pokémon Connoisseur who needed to find himself and did so by joining Ash.

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All three of them had their own personality traits and goals, but they were always side episode goals, rather than focused on. Gou has the opportunity to change that. He doesn’t have a clear goal yet but having him explore the world and pick up bits and pieces of each job would be a fun call back and personality builder.

7 7. Not Just A Side Character

One of the biggest requests so far of Gou is that he isn’t just another side character. Ash might be the lead, but after 20 years, it may be time for him to step down and let someone else have the reigns. The first episode of Pokémon: Sword and Shield does focus on Gou, Ash, and Pikachu pretty evenly, so it is possible this is the direction they are going.

Hopefully, this trend continues and potentially fans will see a Gou only series in the future. For now though, it would just be nice to have Gou making his stand as a developed character alongside Ash, not behind him.

6 6. Learn From The Past

Gou already has a storied past in the show. He has seen Mew, has met Pikachu when it was a Pichu, and gone through some schooling. Just like how Pokémon: XYZ went back to Ash’s childhood, it will be nice to see the new series going back to Gou from before the series.

Depending on how the continuity works for the series, he should also learn from Ash’s past as well. Any number of storylines could draw on the many mistakes that Ash has made over the years, especially his losses, so seeing Gou interact with those memories would make for a much more realized cast.

5 5. Gotta Catch Em All

Maybe Gou isn’t the one that should right now, but in the future, Gou should be out there catching them all. We already know he wants to learn all he can about the Pokémon of the world, so why not have him doing it the way fans of the games have been, by catching them.

This is going to be hard to see at first since he wants his first Pokémon to be Mew, and he hasn’t actually gotten Scourbunny yet. It isn’t a leap to believe that he would jump on the catching train. Since Ash isn’t going to do it, it might as well be Gou.

4 4. Not Just A Gimmick

 

Pokémon: Sword and Shield is going to piggyback off of a lot of gimmicks that have been put out into the world with the recent games and apps. Gou himself is named after the Pokémon Go app. In addition, the first few episodes saw raid battles take place when Lugia appeared and had Gou camping just before that.

While the gimmicks are welcome to appear, making Gou the center of all of them is not what fans want. There needs to be an even trade of old and new quirks for Gou to make him not just a Sword and Shield character, but a Pokémon character overall.

3 3. To Be The Childlike Wonder Of Viewers

After 20 years of Ash being shocked by everything, even the things he has seen multiple times before, it is going to be essential for Gou to be much more expressive. He is a child leaving home for the first time, so he has a lot to learn about the world of Pokémon around him.

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To be clear, he doesn’t have to be dense, as if he knows nothing, but he does need to be interested in the world. His interactions with Lugia have already shown him to have that childlike wonder that fans would also experience, so this isn’t asking a lot of the character.

2 2. Scientist To Ash’s Adventurer

Ash is a well-traveled adventurer who works through his feelings. The clearest example of that is the whole Ash-Greninja form, which was tied directly to the bond that the boy and his Pokémon shared. Gou doesn’t need to feel his feelings the same way.

Gou has the opportunity to be the science side to Ash’s feelings and adventure side. He isn’t 100% serious, but he does keep the gang alive and well as they go off into the world, collecting data for Professor Sakuragi. He needs to learn to open his heart and Ash is the one to help him do that.

1 1. Catch A Legendary

Outside of when Ash owned a Melmetal and a Poipole in the previous series, Legendary Pokémon haven’t been up for capture for the main heroes of any story. The idea of a legendary being so rare that any seen in the past cannot be caught because there is only one might be a nice point, but with the reintroduction of Lugia, this idea is proven false now.

There is no reason that Gou could and should not capture at least one Legendary Pokémon. His ultimate goal is to capture Mew, so it makes sense that he’d also capture other legendries. Even if it is a smaller legendary like Shaymin or Phione, it would give him a validation of his goal’s achievability.

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